Providence, RI - Natural Awakenings

greenbrief
Healthy Economy, Healthy
Environment
by Peter Arpin
As we’ve said many times on Renewable Now, we cannot
enjoy good physical health if the planet around us is
poisoned by dirty air and water supplies. If the Earth’s ecosystems
collapse, so do we.
That does mean we can’t sustain a robust economy or
keep people working. In fact, a Wall Street Journal report
cited the green economy as a key driver for economic gains
we’ve recovered recently. The article states that, “The green
economy often is cited as a key driver of the national economic
recovery. At the very least, it is creating jobs. The total
number of jobs related to green products and services in
2010 was 3.13 million, according to the first-ever green jobs
report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, to
put things in perspective, these jobs accounted for only 2.4
percent of the country’s total employment that year.
It went on to say that many of the states showing growth
had a high percentage of state and federally owned land
available. In Rhode Island, we are lucky enough to have a
fairly high percentage of state and federally owned land,
and we’ve seen that be a key asset in growth, including at
Quonset and former base parcels in Newport and Middletown.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen cities and towns
acquire additional land, including Warwick’s purchase of the
former Rocky Point site. What will be interesting to watch
is whether some of this land gets put back into the local
economy for clean development of energy, companies and
jobs, or gets preserved for pure public access.
We’d argue that we can strike a balance and grow some
of our leading industries at these sites—including agriculture—without
destroying the natural resources gracing these
lands. We can and should foster smart growth. We’ve already
invested dollars in these sites; let’s use them as assets to help
nurture our local economy.
Let’s restore the health of our economy along with the
health of the environment.
Watch Renewable Now on ABC 6 and the Live Well Network,
listen to the live radio version on WARL 1320 AM, read
the blog at ArpinGreen.blogspot.com or visit ArpinBroadcast-
Network.com/Arpin-RenewableNow.html.
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natural awakenings October 2012
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